Blind Date
by Kimi03
Summary: It was time to find someone new to be crazy about. Snowbarry.
1. Blind Date

**Disclaimer:** None of the characters depicted in this story are mine. The Flash belongs to the CW & DC.

 _ **Blind Date**_

"I don't know Cisco…" Caitlin said hesitantly.

Cisco just rolled his eyes at her, yet again, and grabbed her shoulders, "Caitlin it's been two years, I think it's time for you to move on," he finished gently.

She lowered her head, "I know but…"

"I understand, believe me, it hurts me too, but I know he would've wanted you to be happy,"

She looked up with a smile, "You know, I don't necessarily _need_ someone to make me happy,"

Cisco took a step back and also smiled, "I know," he started, "I don't want you to need anyone to make you happy, but knowing you, I really do believe you need someone to teach you _how_ to be happy,"

They shared one last hug and Cisco whispered, "Allow yourself to be happy,"

"Do we have to go over this again," Barry huffed at his phone.

" _Come on Bar, one last time, just for me,"_ his friend pleaded.

After a pause, Barry sighed, "It better be the last time Iris,"

On the other end of the phone call his friend of many years squealed in delight. _"Awesome! You'll love her! She's of your very rare species of adorable nerds. Meet her at 8, I'll text you the details,"_

Life sure had ironic ways of telling him he was never going to get his dream girl.

Iris West had been his best friend for over a decade and over time he had gotten infatuated with the girl more and more. He was enamored with her strength, passion, and of course, her beauty. She was an amazing person and even better friend. He knew it in his gut she was the girl for him. He, who was plain ol' Barry Allen. Barry Allen, the nerd that loved science, the guy that would get bullied for being too lanky and dorky. He believed that, in the future, Iris would also realize that he was the one for her. Though that dream didn't come to fruition.

He never really told Iris how he felt about her, but he was well aware that she either knew or suspected his feelings. Just when he was about ready to take the plunge their senior year of college, _he_ made an appearance with no thoughts of leaving. Him, stupid, perfect (as per Iris), and charismatic: Eddie Thawne. The worst part of it all is that even as Barry tried his hardest to hate him, he couldn't. The guy was pretty cool.

And now that Iris was happily engaged, she dedicated all her free time to finding Barry's significant other. It was irritating, heartbreaking, annoying, and somehow endearing all the same. But Barry was getting tired of it, he just wanted to enjoy life in solitude, was that too much to ask?

This was nerve wrecking. Caitlin had been out of the dating game for years. Even when she was dating Ronnie, he was always the one taking the first step and moving the relationship forward. Now she would have to take initiative...well at least that's what Cisco recommended.

She pulled her dress down ever so slightly and entered the Karaoke bar. _"Okay, look for red sweater plaid button up,"_ as she stepped forward and crushed the anxiousness that threatened to take over she did a quick scan of the place and finally found her mystery man. Who slowly turned towards her as she made her way and almost choked on his drink at the sight.

Barry was patiently waiting for his date, not that he was really interested in the idea but figured there was nothing wrong with allowing himself to have fun. Try to move on at least. He heard the doorbells signal the entry of a new customer, he didn't really pay much attention until he saw many men turn their way towards the door. He slowly turned in that direction and did a double take almost choking on his drink. One of the most beautiful creatures on earth was making her way towards him –Iris wasn't kidding, she was perfect.

Caitlin was about to ask if he was okay but noticed he was staring at her strangely, "What?" she asked also eyeing herself. Was there something wrong with her outfit? Maybe it was too much for an outing at a bar.

"Nothing!" he said an octave higher than intended, "It's just...you look…really nice," Nice? Really Barry that's the best you could come up with? He almost beat himself over his choice of words.

"Oh, thank you," she smiled and took a seat next to him. Phew, she was glad she hadn't overdone it. "My name is Caitlin, Caitlin Snow,"

"Barry Allen," he said with a grin.

An awkward silence ensued. Though Barry was determined to make her talk a bit, if nothing else, they could at least be friends, "So, what do you do for a living?"

"Nothing special," she said, "I work at STAR Labs as a lead geneticist,"

Barry chuckled, "If that is nothing special, I don't know what is," he noticed she blushed slightly and found it cute, "I work at CCPD as a forensic scientist,"

At this Caitlin's head tilted in interest, a fellow scientist, that was great news, "That is amazing, science has revolutionized the crime investigation arena," she was always fascinated with anything science related.

Barry's eyes shone with appreciation and interest and they both embarked on a lengthy conversation about the evolution of DNA studies and genetics. Caitlin thought that maybe Cisco was onto something, and for the first time since he came up with the ridiculous idea of a blind date she actually felt something relax within her. Barry wasn't only polite, he was extremely smart, caring, and charismatic. Even though she felt a twinge of guilt, she also recognized she found him handsome.

Meanwhile, Barry was so enthralled in his conversation with Caitlin and would enthusiastically discuss his findings and theories with her. Caitlin was nothing short of fascinating. Any topic that would be brought up she could dissect eternally, and he would be a fool to not see how beautiful the young woman was. Maybe it was time to move on, and while it was too soon to tell, he had a feeling that Caitlin might be just the person to help him through that hurdle.

After an hour of mild drinking and heavy discussion a bartender interrupted, "I noticed you two get along too well. You should give our Karaoke competition a try?"

Barry and Caitlin shared a look, "Uhm," she started, though Barry took the lead.

"We'd love too," he said with a mischievous grin.

"Please don't ever allow me to go up on stage again," she said with a self-deprecating smile.

Barry chuckled, "I thought you were amazing," he said sincerely.

"Amazing? You're too polite," she gave him a funny look, but then softened her gaze, "in all seriousness, _you_ were amazing. You're a great singer Barry,"

Barry just shrugged, he thought that it was a talent that come from his late mother, but he didn't want to dwell on those thoughts that was a story for another time. They had been walking on the path to her apartment and a comfortable silence befell them.

Barry would occasionally glance at Caitlin's profile, noticing the small smile she failed to suppress. He hoped that she had as much fun as he did. It had been a long time since he had a good time with a member of the opposite sex. Caitlin was in her own innocent way funny, extremely smart, and at times too blunt without being rude. He enjoyed watching her and listening to her, she was utterly fascinating and he'd never met anyone that he could talk endlessly about his favorite subject: science. He also noticed that she kept a wall between them to a certain extent, maybe because they were getting to know each other –though he suspected there was more there than what she was comfortable sharing. In any case, she seemed like a great woman, and who knew...maybe…

"Barry," she interrupted his thoughts, "we're here," she said as she stopped in front of him.

"Yes, we are," wow, time sure flew by.

She looked at her apartment and then at him, "I really had a great time," she said with a small smile, and it was nothing but the truth.

"So did I," he said with a full grin, "I really mean that Caitlin,"

"Thank you. It has been a long time since I really just relaxed,"

He nodded in agreement, "I can sympathize with that,"

"Cisco was right about you."

" _Cisco?"_ He didn't really know a Cisco, but didn't think much of it, "Yeah, Iris was right about you too, I'm glad I came,"

Caitlin furrowed her brows, _"Iris? Was she a friend of Cisco's maybe?"_

They stood there in awkward silence until Caitlin cleared her throat, "I think I should…"

"Yeah, sure, right," he shoved his hands in his pocket and was about to turn on his heel when he felt Caitlin's hand hold his arm and as he turned, he felt her soft lips graze the corners of his lips.

"Goodnight Barry!" she said hurriedly as she ran towards her apartment and locked the door behind her. She was never one to act like that.

As she shut the door behind her, she released a sigh she wasn't aware she had been holding. It had been far too long since she felt this connection with another person. Not for the first time that evening, she thought that Cisco was right, it was time for her to find someone new to be crazy about. Ronnie would've wanted her to be happy, that she was sure of. And Barry...well, it seemed like Barry _could_ be that someone. It was still too soon to tell, they've only been on this one date, maybe he was just being nice...but that twinkle in his eyes made her wonder.

Maybe, just maybe, he saw something in her too.

{-}

Later that night Cisco received a text that interrupted his Star Wars marathon. He was just about to ignore it, but then remembered that Caitlin had just gone on a date in years. He _needed_ to know how that went. What he wasn't expecting, was a text from…

 _Remind me to never do you a favor Francisco. I got stood up –Hunter_

A few miles away as Iris snuggled up to Eddie she felt her phone vibrate.

 _Your friend was a no-show, but I did meet someone interesting ;) –Linda_


	2. Blind Text

_Hello wonderful people!_

 _ **Bind Date**_ _was my introduction to the Snowbarry world and I thank you for the warm reception. I wanted to expand the story just a little so you can see what happened after –in case you were wondering about that._

 _PS. I may or may not have another little snippet to share after this._

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 _ **Blind Text**_

It was the Monday after his amazing blind date, and Barry was happy. Happy in a way he hadn't been in a long time. He woke up at 5:30AM and arrived half an hour early to work. Even when captain Singh made a jab at his surprising arrival he couldn't care less. It was like everything was right in the world...now if only he could get a hold of Caitlin.

A loud slam on the door alerted Barry of Iris' entrance, "Barry Allen, you have a lot of explaining to do,"

"Iris! Perfect timing," Now if he could ask her for Caitlin's number, "do you have Cai…"

Iris raised her index finger to stop him from talking, "Why were you a no-show? I thought you trusted me on this,"

"What?" Barry was confused.

"You know how many times I had to apologize?" She huffed and took a seat on one of the stools. "That's not important though, I really thought you guys were perfect for each other," she sighed, "and now she tells me she met someone interesting, someone that's _not_ you."

"What?" This time his voice went an octave too high. He really thought they were hitting it off pretty well. "She said that?" He couldn't believe it. Caitlin surely wasn't that type of girl.

"Barry if you had shown up, none of this would've happened,"

"I really thought we had a great time and she said I stood her up, wow…" He was at a loss here.

"You were there? That's not what Linda said, why would she lie to me?"

"Of course I was there, we even sang together!"

"You can sing?" she said surprised. After all these years of knowing him and she didn't know this.

Barry furrowed his brows, he couldn't get it. And then something hit him…

"Who's Linda?"

{-}

Caitlin was lost in thought as she looked at test results for the tenth time and couldn't come to a conclusion. She snapped the file shut and started to think about her date. Now, how could she get Cisco to give her Barry's phone number without setting Cisco off? I mean, it's not like she liked _liked_ Barry, they only met once, and sang, and talked, and drank together...and she did kiss him –on the cheek.

Cisco came in to visit, as he usually did, "So how was yesterday?" There must've been a reason for her to back out at the last minute. He knew Caitlin well enough and she would not back out on her word unless there were pressing circumstances.

Caitlin bit her lower lip and was thinking on how to say the date went well, without saying _how_ well. "It was good," she ended up saying.

"Really?" Cisco raised a dark eyebrow, waiting for her to go on.

Caitlin sighed, it's not like she could keep secrets from Cisco, "You were right, I really had a great time. I mean, at first it was a little awkward, you know? But once we broke the ice, it was…"

"Go on,"

"It was like I've known him all my life," a small smile tugged at the corners of her mouth, one Cisco knew all too well. "We actually sang together! Can you believe it?"

"Whoa! You sang? I've only heard you once. Not a memory I'd like to remember,"

"Well he actually said, and I quote, I 'was amazing,'" she stated proudly.

Cisco raised his brows in disbelief, "He was either too nice, or he really liked you,"

A pink hue tinted Caitlin's cheeks, "We got along that was all,"

"Right,"

After a moment of silence, Caitlin took a deep breath, "CanIhaveBarry'snumber!?" she murmured.

"Huh?"

"CanIhaveBarry'snumber!?" she said a little more loudly.

"Okay, one word at a time," Cisco said patiently, as if he was talking to a small child.

Caitlin sighed, there was no point in acting shy about it. "Can I have _Barry's_ number?"

Cisco nodded sagely, "See, that wasn't so bad. I'd love to give you his number," he stuck a lollipop in his mouth, "problem is, I don't know any Barrys."

It didn't matter to Cisco that there had been a complete mix up since Caitlin had such a great time anyway.

Hunter who?

{-}

After a long discussion with his best friend and going back in forth in between explaining the mix up and the great time he had with Caitlin, Barry dropped on his chair with a defeated sigh. "So you're telling me that I was supposed to have met your friend Linda, and instead confused her with an accomplished geneticist,"

Iris nodded and took a sip of her coffee, "Yes, exactly that."

"And the Allen curse strikes again," he muttered under his breath. It was like he was meant to be alone, every girl he was remotely interested in always ended up with someone else...or was supposed to be with someone else.

Iris smiled sympathetically, "It's not so bad Bar, you can always go see her. You walked her to her apartment remember?"

Barry shook his head, "You don't get it Iris, she was also there to meet someone, someone that wasn't me. For all I know, she's regretting our date right this minute,"

{-}

"Now I feel awful for not exchanging numbers with him," She probably will never see him again, her luck was never the best.

Cisco placed a brotherly arm on her shoulder, "You must've really liked the guy, huh,"

A pink tint colored Caitlin's cheeks, "Well…I only met him that one day, but he was really nice,"

Cisco gave her a look, "then I guess it doesn't matter if you don't see him again," and shrugged.

"That's not really what I meant to say,"

"What _did_ you mean?"

Oh, Cisco would not let her off the hook, "Maybe I did like him…a little," she posed her index finger and thumb very close to each other to signify just how little she liked him.

"And Cupid-Cisco strikes again," he congratulated himself, "now we just need to find this guy," he knew very well that if Caitlin admitted to liking this guy it was a pretty big deal.

Caitlin bit her lower lip, "I don't know Cisco, it seemed like he was there to see someone too, a blind date perhaps?"

"So? You two hit it off pretty well from what you said. I'm pretty sure he's looking for you right this instant,"

{-}

3 Days Later

This was the closest he had come to driving by Star Labs and he still wasn't brave enough to stop by and ask for a Caitlin Snow. He made a stop at Jitters for his daily fix of coffee and headed to the CCPD with a long sigh. It was rare, but today his work did not bring him its usual joy.

"Allen," Eddie knocked and enter the turf of the forensic scientist.

"Hey Eddie," Barry replied from the window.

"I brought this for you, the Cap said that you should get in touch with one of the scientists at Star Labs to exchange data for the Queen Industries case," Eddie dropped an envelope on his desk and walked towards the exit, "figured this might help with your search of your blind date," he said with a wink as he walked out the door.

Trust Iris to tell everyone about his private matters, probably the whole precinct knew about his blind date fiasco. He didn't have time to dwell on his embarrassment as he felt his cellphone vibrate signaling a text message.

- _Didn't mean to bother you, I just wanted to follow up on the data we requested. This is Dr. S from Star Labs. I'll have yours ready in 2 days at most._

Dr. S

- _Hi Dr. S this is BA from the CCPD. I just received your request, I will compile the test results and send them your way as soon as possible._

BA

- _Thank you._

Dr. S

- _If I may, why do you need this information? This is a murder case not a topic of interest for Star Labs, from what I know._

BA

- _It's a private matter, not for others to know. My apologies._

Dr. S

- _I understand._

BA

Barry left his phone and decided to work on some of the cases he had for today, purposely leaving his Star Labs assignment on the side. He would not admit it, but having a file from the company where Caitlin worked at, made him feel somewhat close to her. Which was crazy, but he couldn't help it. Maybe he could arrange a meeting to deliver the test data to Star Labs, or schedule a meeting with Dr. S and fish for Caitlin's information. Though it didn't seem that Dr. S was the friendly type…and he had yet to work the courage to step into Star Labs.

But maybe, just maybe…

{-}

Not for the first time Caitlin wondered if Cisco had something to do with her collaboration with CCPD, since she clearly told him that is where Barry worked, or at least said he did.

She went over her latest text messages again and bit her lower lip, would it be too daring to ask this BA person to give her Barry's information? No, this was way out of character for her. Besides, she came across a little standoffish to her contact at the CCPD, forget this person wanting to help her.

Then again…

- _I can't really tell you what the data from Queen Industries is for, I'm not really sure myself. Dr. Wells is the only one privy to that information. What I can tell you is that we are working on finalizing the particle accelerator._

Dr. S

Talking about the particle accelerator wasn't so bad, right? Dr. Wells had already made the announcement three years ago. Sure they were way ahead of schedule, but it's not like this person could share it with the world. Would BA even care though? What if BA wasn't into science? She couldn't just assume that as a scientist he loved the subject. She knew many people that did their job because they had to not because they really wanted to.

Thirty minutes went by and she received no answer.

" _At least I tried,"_ she reassured herself, and then a particular _ding_ came from her phone.

- _Really?! I heard the particle accelerator wasn't scheduled to go live for another five years! This is amazing, I've been waiting for so long. It must be awesome working with the best minds in science._

BA

A small smile graced Caitlin's lips. If only she had met people like this back when she was younger.

- _It's a dream come true. I feel like I'm changing the world somehow. It sounds corny, doesn't it?_

Dr. S

- _Not at all. I think that you really are changing the world. One DNA report at a time_

BA

{-}

Barry had been talking with Dr. S the whole day and it seems that they just never got tired of talking science. It was great to have another person that shared his passion, he had never talked to someone this long about his most passionate subject other than Caitlin.

Would it be a good time to ask for her information? Probably not, since Star Labs was super strict on releasing employee information.

As he was typing _You wouldn't happen to know a Caitlin Snow…_ a message came from Dr. S

- _Do you work with Barry Allen?_

Dr. S

Huh?

- _Yeah, we work together. Why?_

BA

Way to go Barry, why did you lie? He was chastising himself for his response. Couldn't he just say he _was_ Barry Allen?

- _I need to reach him for another case._

Dr. S

Another case? He didn't have anything pending for Star Labs as far as he knew. Or maybe this was a new assignment?

Just then his phone began to ring, he was getting a call from Dr. S, and he didn't hesitate to answer it.

"Hello,"

"Hey, is Barry Allen there by chance?" he heard a man on the other line ask in a hurry.

"Uh," Barry wasn't even sure what to say. He heard in the background a voice that was all too familiar to him.

"Cisco, what are you doing?" Came the voice from a panicked Caitlin.

"As interesting as your text messages about the molecular structure of a strand of hair are, we need to speed up the process," He heard Cisco say. Now he knew who Caitlin meant when she told him that " _Cisco was right_ " during their date.

"Cisco give me that!" Caitlin said as she struggled to get her cellphone. "I'm so sorry, my friend was just…"

"Hey," Barry said with a big smile, not that she could see it, but he couldn't help it, he was delighted.

Barry heard Caitlin gasp softly and then she released a nervous breath, "Hi,"

There was a momentary silence until Cisco's voice was heard in the background. "It's him, isn't it!?"

"Cisco!" Caitlin chastised.

"Not my fault, you're blushing," Cisco teased.

Ugh, Caitlin really wished the Earth would open and swallow her just about now. "Can you leave, _please?_ "

"Sorry, uhm, that was Cisco, my friend,"

Barry stifled a chuckle, "I figured. He sounds like a really nice guy,"

"Nice is not the word I would use right now, but I'll let him know."

"So…"

"Yeah…"

Wow this was a little awkward. It was like the beginning of their date all over again, but Barry wouldn't let the awkwardness get in the way. The stars finally aligned for him.

"I, uhm, get off of work in fifteen minutes, you wouldn't happen to know if Dr. S…"

He didn't get to finish because Caitlin answered, "She would love to," and Barry didn't need to see her to know she had the same goofy smile he did.

{x}

 _Special thanks to_ _ **ChlexLover3, FlashFtOthers, Samantha, shyesplease,**_ _and_ _ **Guest**_ _, for your reviews and to those who followed and/or favorited this story._


	3. Blind Kiss

_This is the last installment of this series. I promise!_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **.**_

 _ **Blind Kiss**_

After three weeks of smiles, hugs, awkwardness, and a whole lot of misunderstandings along the way (which was how they got together in the first place), Barry and Caitlin, were ready for the next step in their relationship.

A kiss. A real one this time. Not a kiss on the cheek, or a 2-second peck. Nu-uh, not anymore.

"Caitlin, what are you doing?" Asked Cisco, who came in to her apartment with pizza and drinks.

Caitlin let out a frustrating sigh and threw her black dress at the cold floor, "Cisco, I'm doing something wrong,"

"And that would be…?"

She dropped herself at the couch, "This is like my seventh date with Barry and we haven't, well, you know…"

Cisco raised a suspicious eyebrow, "You haven't, what?"

"You know, the _thing_?"

Cisco let out a high-pitched gasp, and clutched his chest, "Caitlin! I would've never thought –"

"We haven't _kissed_ , Cisco." She cut him off dryly.

"Ah," he let out a relieved sigh.

The doctor just rolled her eyes at her friend. "You think I should take the first step?"

"Caitlin, Caitlin," he said sympathetically, "as your all-knowing and super handsome friend, I will tell you exactly what you need to do for that first kiss to happen," he's only ever had one girlfriend, but Cisco was a self-proclaimed romance expert.

She nodded to herself, " Okay," Caitlin went to her room and came back with a journal and a pen, "I'm ready," her eyes focused on the blank page staring back at her, but her mind briefly rehashed her last few dates with Barry where everything had gone so well, but in the end he would just drop her off with a kind smile and a pseudo-friendly hug.

"This is _exactly_ what you need to do," in his mind, he was imparting rare wisdom onto the young muggle.

{-}

Barry was lightly hitting his head on the door frame.

"Last time I saw you, you were normal, what's going on Bar?" Iris had just dropped off lunch for her dad and Eddie.

The CSI dragged himself to his desk and slumped on his chair, "Caitlin and I might not work out after all," he said defeatedly.

The ebony beauty came to pat his back reassuringly, "Come on Bar, you're both head over heels for each other. I mean, the girl couldn't stop gushing about your brains last dinner, and between you and I, she said something about your 'gorgeous green eyes,'"

"She said that?" he asked hopeful.

Iris nodded. There was a whole lot that Caitlin said about Barry, but she would let him discover that on his own. "Caitlin really likes you, and it's pretty obvious,"

"Is it?" He said as if the knowledge was foreign to him. He always felt he was making a fool of himself in front of the charming doctor. "I don't know Iris, I just feel like we need to take our relationship to the next level,"

The journalist took a step back, "Should I call Eddie or my dad for this conversation?"

Barry scrunched his face, "What? No!"

"Bar, we are great friends and all, but maybe those discussions are best done with...well...you know...other guys,"

The man just chuckled, "That is so _not_ what I meant,"

"What _did_ you mean?"

"Well I may or may not have chickened out of kissing Caitlin," Barry said with a crimson blush. He was an adult man and acted like a middle schooler with a crush.

To her credit Iris tried really, really, hard not to laugh but she couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. After three minutes of Iris just laughing at Barry's demise, the man stood up and was getting ready to leave.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," she said in between laughs.

"Thank you," He grumbled.

"I just can't believe it. I mean, it's not like you've never kissed anyone before."

"I know! But I feel like this has to be super special," He said exasperated. He really cared about Caitlin and wanted everything to be perfect. Should it be a traditional candlelit dinner? Or was it best to just have a day at an amusement park and kiss on a Ferris-wheel? No, no, none of that worked!

"You should just do it, a kiss should be spontaneous Bar,"

"What if I'm going too fast?

"What if you're not fast enough?"

{-}

Alright, she was going to put into action all the tips Cisco gave her. She would have to show Barry that she wanted them to kiss, without being too obvious. Today they opted for having a movie night at his place, so that should provide the perfect setting for a kiss.

Today was the day.

She knocked on his door and waited patiently for him to answer, it didn't take him too long to open the door and greet her with a dazzling smile.

"Cait, glad you came," he said as he moved aside for her to come in.

They both shared a hug and she headed towards the living room placing some goodies on the table, "I brought a little bit of everything," she took out chips of all flavors and some sweets, wondering is Barry liked spicy or sweet things.

"Thanks, I enjoy all things junk food so this is perfect," he said from the kitchen as he prepared them drinks. Although on the outside he looked calm and collected (at least he hoped he did) he was far from it in reality. He had everything planned out, he would choose a romantic movie, get the mood just right, and then when they got lost in each other's eyes he would lean in and…

"Do you need help?" Caitlin approached him from behind with a polite smile.

"Yeah, sure," he handed her the tray with the drinks while he left to get a bowl for the chips. As he turned his back to her he released a small sigh of relief. He was getting too carried away with his fantasies.

Caitlin went back to the living room. She eyed Barry briefly before settling in her spot. The plan was simple, they would see a scary movie and she would have a reason to hang to him for dear life under the pretense that she was scared and just as the movie was ending, while still holding on to him, they would get lost in each other's eyes she would lean in and...

"Okay, we have the drinks, the chips, the candy, now we just need the movie," Barry sat next to her and turned on the TV, casually logging into his Netflix account pleased by the romantic selection ahead of them. All according to pl—

"How about we watch a scary movie?" Suggested Caitlin innocently, or so she hoped.

"Scary movie…" _May-day, may-day,_ he had not anticipated this, the plan was at risk. "What about a romantic movie?" he tried to suggest, hoping he didn't sound as paranoid as he sounded in his head.

"Well…" Oh no, this was not going as expected. She chewed her lower lip and tried to think of an alternative.

Barry found it cute when she did that to her lip, but worrisome at the same time. After three weeks he realized that was a thing she did when something was bothering her.

"Why don't we let Netflix suggest something?" Perfect. Now he sounded like he could compromise, and he was fairly certain that Netflix would suggest a romantic movie (he didn't spend the last 3 days playing romantic movies on his TV for nothing).

It was up to luck now, "That seems fair," she said nodding to herself. Internally praying that it would suggest a scary movie.

1…

2…

3…

And the movie was…

 _Hachi: A dog's tale_

Neither one had seen it, but it didn't look like a romantic movie and it certainly didn't look scary either. They both held a defeated sigh.

"Hachi it is," Barry said with fake enthusiasm.

As the movie started Barry attempted to _casually_ get closer to Caitlin, hoping to limit the minimal distance.

Caitlin _casually_ moved closer to Barry effectively eliminating the distance between them.

Their arms and legs were touching and both were pleased, hiding a mischievous smile after their success.

Step number 2. Now Barry would just yawn and extend his arms, _casually_ placing one on her shoulder and hugging her close. He was midway there when he heard Caitlin talk to him.

"Aww, isn't he cute? Akita dogs are adorable," _Abort, abort, she is on to us,_ his subconscious told him and he put his arm down to his side once again. Great move Allen. "Do you like dogs Barry?" she said softly as she rested her head on his shoulder. _Success!_ She told herself. This wasn't so hard.

"I love them!" He said a little too excited. Excellent, she got closer on her own, this was awesome.

Now the next step would be to unintentionally brush hands as they were both getting chips. Both Caitlin and Barry extended their hands slowly towards the bowl of chips, now they just needed to _accidentally_ touch, look at each other sheepishly and then lose themselves in the eyes of the other lean in and…

 _Ring!_

Barry nearly had a heart attack and glared at his phone resting on the table. He had forgotten to turn off the volume, "Hello?" he answered, trying to keep the annoyance from his voice.

"Hey Barry, this is Wally,"

Barry stood up from the couch and headed to his room, "I'll be right back," he told Caitlin softly, before closing the door behind him.

"Wally, you better have a great reason for calling me at this time," Barry said through gritted teeth.

"Was now not a good time?" Wally asked unaware of his inner turmoil, "Sorry man, I can call back tomorrow," and with that he hung up.

"Gah!" Barry shut off his phone and threw it angrily at his bed. Wally would pay for this. He took a calming breath (or three) and then stepped out finding his annoyance at Wally vanished as he saw Cait engrossed in the movie with the bowl of chips on her lap. She was just too cute.

"Come quick! It's almost about to end," she said as she patted his side of the couch motioning for him to come.

He didn't hesitate and sat next to her. Sadly, this time she didn't rest her head on his shoulder.

After a few minutes sniffles were heard in the room. "That was so sad," Caitlin said in between tears, "he waited all those years…" she turned to look at Barry and blinked in surprise. The poor man was biting his cheek in an attempt to not sob loudly, but his tears betrayed him. Caitlin smiled at him fondly... he was adorable.

" _Way to go Allen, tears are_ _ **so**_ _manly,"_ He wouldn't be able to face her after this.

"Here," she said kindly handing him the box of Kleenex.

"Thanks," he said taking them gratefully, knowing that his runny nose was dying to make an appearance. "I must look like a complete mess right now, don't I?"

She giggled, "I'm not any better," she said as she wiped some tears away.

And then _that_ inexplicable moment came.

There was this electricity in the air. Green and hazel eyes collided and both were leaning in unconsciously. This was perfect. Both of them were doing a victory dance in their heads and just as their lips were an inch away… everything turned dark.

"Barry," Caitlin said in the darkness. Apparently the electricity had gone out in the apartment.

"I'm right here," he said reassuringly, trying to find her hand in the darkness. He patted the couch and then touched something soft.

"That's my thigh,"

Barry pulled his hand back as if it burned, "Oh! That was totally not what I meant to do, I was looking for your hand, I swear!"

"It's okay,"

He tried to get away quickly, she probably thought he was a pervert or something. Ugh, why couldn't things be like their first date. Everything had been perfect that one time. In his attempt to jump away he tripped with the table and landed with a loud thud on the floor.

"Barry are you okay!?" Caitlin panicked after the sound and moved her hands crazily in the dark hoping to touch him. After some futile attempts, she decided to get up and walk to where he was to ensure that he was fine. Sadly, she didn't make it too far and instead tripped with his foot, ungracefully falling on top of him. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" she said frantically as she tried to prop herself up but was stopped by two strong arms enveloping her in a hug.

"It's okay," he said softly, feeling her hair caress his skin and her warm body pressed against him. This moment had been the best one of the evening.

Caitlin immediately froze. This was probably the most intimate moment they shared since they met and the longest they had been this close to each other. She started to relax her body enjoying the warmth and comfort of Barry's body. "Okay," she whispered in the dark and decided to enjoy the moment by snuggling in his arms.

Barry was so thankful that it was pitch dark right now because he felt a heatwave on his face and was certain he was blushing.

After a moment of comfortable silence he heard her say, "I hope I'm not too heavy,"

"You're perfect," he answered unconsciously but sincerely.

Now it was Caitlin's turn to blush. This man was so sweet, he would be the death of her. She slowly raised her head in the darkness and felt his hands move to her waist not ready to let her go.

"Cait?" he wondered why was she moving when they were sharing such a special moment together.

And then she felt it. She felt his minty breath reach her, his face was right in front of her. "Barry," she said softly and he noticed too. They were close, very close.

Barry closed his eyes despite the darkness and slowly raised his left hand to her neck while raising his head slightly. Caitlin didn't need the prodding as her eyes fluttered shut and she willingly leaned in. How they found each other's lips in the darkness will forever be a mystery. What wasn't a mystery were the emotions that overflowed them both as they moved their lips in tandem, softly, certain, and appreciatively. Caitlin felt happy in a way she hadn't been in a long time. She felt loved and protected. She felt overjoyed and ecstatic, as if she had been born for this moment. Barry wasn't far behind, this was probably the happiest moment of his life. This instant alone reminded him of all the wonderful things of the world. While Caitlin hadn't been his first love, with just one kiss he knew she would be his last. He could already envision a future with her full of happiness, dreams, and an Akita dog in memory of this moment. This wasn't how either of them envisioned their first kiss, but it didn't matter, sometimes the reality was better than the dream.

As their lips danced together in the night none of them noticed when the lights turned back on.

There was a lot to make up for anyway.

{x}

 _And that is it my friends!_

 _Warm thanks to_ _ **: stars90, AReiss215, Guest, torish4, Maya, shyesplease, and ShanouNash**_ _who totally anticipated this last theme._

 _Thank you lovelies for your kind words!_

 _Until next time._

 _-Kim_


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